Open ended questions are the questions that those questions can be answered in many ways. By asking these questions, parents are able to expand their children’s curiosity and the ability to think creatively.
Before we go into the questions, here are something you need to know before asking them the questions.
- Make sure you allow your child to fully answer the question without interruption
- You should keep the conversation going until your child gives you clues to move on
What are some of the best open ended questions you can ask your kids?
- Show me …
- Tell me about …
- What else can you do if …
- Tell me why …
- Can you do it another way
- What else do we need …
- What will happen if …
- What do you think will work …
- What might happen if …
- What do you suppose to …
- How do you feel about …
- Why do you think …
- What would happen if …
- What do you like about …
- How are you planning to do …
- What are you most excited about …
- What could we have done …
- How are these the same or different
- Where would you go
- Why is it important
- What do you think about …
- Why did you choose …
- What else could you add
- What would you do differently next time
- What do you notice about …
- How does it work
- How could you change
- How could you do better
- How did you overcome …
- Can you give me an example of …
Close ended questions vs open ended questions
So what’s the difference between a close ended and open ended question. Close ended questions are often answered in one or two words such as yes or no such as do you like apples. One the other hand, open ended questions allow your kid to think deeper and most importantly communicate more such as asking them “why did you pick apples”.
Keep in mind that both close ended questions and open ended questions are both important.